Annual meeting of the Israel Society for Microbiology. 8 to 9 February 1988, Tel Aviv, Israel. Abstracts of papers.
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BACKGROUND: Like most developed countries, in the last decade Israel's healthcare system has been subject to cost-containing measures in the drug sector. OBJECTIVES: To provide comparative information in an international context on the level of outpatient drug expenditures in Israel, both total and those publicly financed, and to analyze how these have changed with time during the last decade. METHODS: Using definitions of the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development), internationally comparable data on total expenditure and public expenditure on medicines in Israel are provided. The Israeli estimates are based on data from the Ministry of Health audited reports of financial activities of the health management organizations and from the family expenditure surveys carried out by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Per capita total and public expenditures in Israel are analyzed over time, as are their share of national expenditure on health and of gross domestic product. Israel expenditures are then compared with those for individual member countries of the OECD, as well as a 21 country average, from 1992 to 2002. RESULTS: Analysis of the Israeli expenditure data shows a considerable reduction in growth of per capita total and public expenditures on medicines since 1997. Growth in the share of total drug expenditure of NEH and of GDP has also been constrained since 1997. In an international context, per capita expenditure on medicines in Israel, particularly what is publicly financed, is one of the lowest. Furthermore, its share of NEH and GDP is also very low compared to other countries. This substantive gap in spending on medicines between Israel and other countries has increased since 1997. CONCLUSIONS: Israel, a medium-income country with a lower than average level of expenditure on health compared to OECD countries, has a particularly low level of expenditure on medicines. Whereas the share of health expenditure of GDP in Israel is similar to the international average, the share of drug expenditure of GDP is well below the average. In addition to structural and longer-term factors contributing to Israel's low per capita spending on medicines, such as the young population and the apparently low level of actual prices paid by most institutional purchasers, recent years are witness to the growing impact of National Health Insurance budgetary pressures on HMOs as well as continual increases in prescription cost sharing by patients. The impact is felt both on the demand side (higher copayments, administrative and prescribing restrictions) and perhaps more crucially on the supply side (price competition, mainly from generics). Substantial extra public funding for the addition of new drugs to the NHI basket in recent years has had no overall impact on these longer-term spending patterns.
BACKGROUND: The Arterial Revascularization Therapies Study was a multicenter, randomized trial designed to compare percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting versus coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 1,205 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. The most appropriate type of treatment for these patients is still a matter of considerable debate. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients enrolled in the ARTS trial in Israel in comparison to those worldwide, and to assess the 1 year outcome in these patients. METHODS: Between April 1997 and June 1998, a total of 1,205 patients with multivessel coronary artery disease, who were considered to be equally treatable with both modalities, were randomized to either stenting (n = 600) or CABG (n = 605) at 67 centers around the world. In Israel, 53 patients at four participating medical centers were randomized to either PCI with stents (n = 27) or CABG (n = 26). RESULTS: Clinical and angiographic characteristics were similar in the two groups, except for a significantly higher incidence of diabetic patients in Israel who were randomized to CABG, compared to those worldwide (35% vs. 16%, P = 0.01). Also, there were more patients with unstable angina in Israel (63 vs. 37%, P = 0.006). At 1 year follow-up, overall mortality and cerebrovascular accident rates were similar between the two groups and equivalent to results obtained around the world. There was a significantly higher incidence of myocardial infarction rates in patients randomized to stenting in Israel compared to patients worldwide (7.4 vs. 5.3%, P = 0.01) or to patients randomized to CABG in Israel (7.4 vs. 0%, P = 0.006). Similar to the overall ARTS results, there was a higher incidence of repeat revascularization procedures in patients assigned to the PCI with stenting arm (22.2 vs. 3.8%, P = 0.004) compared to those randomized to CABG, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this analysis of the Israeli ARTS population indicate that coronary stenting and bypass surgery yield similar findings with regard to mortality and stroke and are comparable to those obtained in the whole study group. Likewise, coronary stenting was associated with an increased incidence of repeat revascularization procedures as compared to CABG. However, patients in Israel randomized to stenting had a higher rate of myocardial infarction as compared to the overall results and to patients who underwent CABG in Israel. The present analysis provides important data for the safety and efficacy of either stenting or bypass surgery in treating patients with multivessel disease in Israel.
INTRODUCTION: Israel is a small country, about the size of Wales, located in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The Israel Ministry of Health has responsibility for health matters in Israel. All health matters fall under their jurisdiction. HOSPITAL AND CLINICAL PHARMACY IN ISRAEL: There are about 50 hospitals in Israel with between 300 and 1200 beds including 12 specialist tertiary care centres (6 have facilities to perform bone marrow transplantations). The total number of hospital beds is around 30,000. SAFE HANDLING OF CYTOTOXICS IN ISRAEL: Israel's growing population (rising from half a million in 1948 to about 7 million in 2005) has been matched with an equally rapid rise in the use of cytotoxic drugs. The ministry issued guidelines to standardize and harmonize the level of pharmaceutical oncology services in Israel, and improve the professional level of cytotoxic pharmacy services and acknowledged the need to recognize clinical oncology pharmacy as a speciality. DISCUSSION: Over the last 25 years, safe handling of cytotoxics has moved forward in Israel in a manner comparable to that seen in the best of the developed "western" countries.